Woodward done it again? £40m bid reportedly accepted, Barca and Real Madrid target moving to Old Trafford

Renato Sanches is reportedly packing his bags to Manchester, with claims that the Benfica midfield enforcer has reached a gentleman’s agreement for his transfer to Manchester United. While nothing has been signed yet, it is understood that United chief executive Ed Woodward has come to a verbal agreement for Sanches’ transfer. United are said to have scouted Sanches all season ahead of a proposed move.

The Portuguese outfit, Benfica are looking for £31m up front and another £15m in add ons. The Premier League giants feel they can negotiate those figures down ahead of a full agreement but the principle is said to already be in place for the deal to sail through.

The deal looks most likely to be struck as Sanches is represented by ‘super-agent’ Jorge Mendes who is well known around the Old Trafford outfits scenery as he has struck deals with united on behalf of players he represents including the deals that brought Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao to Manchester United.

Renato’s influence across the pitch is extraordinary for a player of his age, and his ability to fire up the crowd with is enthusiastic tackling, his shooting and tireless pursuit of lost balls. These traits are surely what have attracted the Old Trafford hierarchy with his performance against Bayern in the Champions League also worthy of note.

The deal would make the young Renato Sanches FC Benfica’s most-expensive sale of all time, beating the deal that saw Axel Witsel move from FC Benfica to Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg in 2012.